Thursday, August 18, 2011

Revere, Plouffe and the podcast

Ben Revere's first catch
Wednesday — an
over the shoulder grab
in the first inning of
a Delmon Young drive.

One could put together a pretty impressive highlight reel of Ben Revere plays, and he certainly added to his legend in the just-completed series against Detroit — two sparkling catches on Wednesday night, the collision at home plate as he tried to turn a triple into an inside-the-parker on Monday, a near-perfect bunt on Wednesday.

I think he'll hit better than he has this year. He isn't overwhelmed by major league pitching, as Tsuyoshi Nishioka has been; the pitchers aren't knocking the bat out of his hands.

Monday's trade of Delmon Young means Revere figures to be a regular henceforth. Whether Revere plays center field or left, he'll be a substantial defensive upgrade over Young. And even at his current level of production, Revere's on-base percentage is roughly what Young put up.

Trevor Plouffe figures to get regular time the rest of the way as the Twins try to figure out what role, if any, he should fill in coming seasons.

He was at second base Wednesday, and his inability to get the ball out of his glove on the pivot cost the Twins a double play.

And his strikeout in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded was interesting for what it suggested about how teams approach him. Jose Valverde kept pumping neck-high fastballs — he did mix in one splitter well out of the zone — and got Plouffe to climb the ladder.

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I have a part in the latest "FreePcast" sports podcast, run by the capable Tanner Kent. Here's the link; it's FreePcast No. 4. I follow Shane Frederick on college hockey (specifically the controversy over the North Dakota nickname and logo) and Jim Rueda on fantasy football. I'm about two thirds of the way through.

I talk about the Young trade, Jim Thome's future and possible September call-ups, all in a voice made for print.

1 comment:

Assuming Denard returns to form next year, I'd like to see Revere batting 9th as an experiment. Not as a punishment or anything, but just to have speed in that spot, and a capable hitter to turn around the lineup.